{"id":23708,"date":"2025-04-01T11:00:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T11:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=23708"},"modified":"2025-04-01T11:00:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T11:00:30","slug":"frances-vape-and-nicotine-pouch-bans-could-trap-millions-in-smoking-report-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/frances-vape-and-nicotine-pouch-bans-could-trap-millions-in-smoking-report-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"France\u2019s vape and nicotine pouch bans could trap millions in smoking, report warns"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

A new report<\/a> from global health advocacy group Smoke Free Sweden compares the prohibitive tobacco control policies of France with the Swedes\u2019 more regulatory approach. It highlights how Sweden\u2019s embrace of nicotine alternatives, such as vapes and snus, has resulted in the lowest smoking rates in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quarter of French adults still smoke<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the number of adult smokers in Sweden having dipped below five per cent, it has officially been declared \u201csmoke free\u201d<\/a> by the World Health Organisation. Meanwhile in France, a massive 25 per cent of adults still smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, France became the second European Union nation after Belgium to ban disposable vapes<\/a>. It also plans to outlaw nicotine pouches and increase tax on e-liquids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest report, unveiled by Smoke Free Sweden, says: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWhile Sweden is achieving world-leading results by embracing harm reduction and safer smoke-free alternatives, France is imposing regulations that could undermine the potential of these life-saving innovations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The key findings of the report include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • France\u2019s smoking rate (27 per cent) is five times higher than Sweden\u2019s (5.3 per cent at the time of the research and now 4.5 per cent)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sweden has reduced its smoking rate by 54 per cent since 2012, while France has seen a mere one percentage point reduction over the same period<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sweden\u2019s cancer incidence is 41 per cent lower than the European average, with corresponding 38 per cent lower cancer deaths<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sweden formally adopted tobacco harm reduction as national policy in December 2024, focusing on \u201creducing medical and social harm caused by tobacco and nicotine products\u201d rather than simply reducing consumption<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • France continues to implement restrictive policies on alternatives to smoking, recently announcing plans to ban nicotine pouches entirely<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Dr. Delon Human, global health advocate and report author, said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThis report provides undeniable evidence that harm reduction strategies work. Sweden\u2019s success comes from embracing safer smoke-free alternatives, making them accessible, affordable and socially acceptable for adults, while France\u2019s prohibitionist approach has yielded minimal results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWhile Sweden stands as a beacon of success, France\u2019s restrictive policies are preventing smokers from switching to less harmful alternatives. Without a shift in strategy, millions of French smokers will continue to face the devastating health consequences of combustible tobacco.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    France unlikely to be \u2018smoke free\u2019 before 2100<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    At the current pace of decline, the report warns that France is unlikely to reach its smoke-free target before 2100. \u201cInstead of prioritising access to safer alternatives that could help adult smokers quit, French policymakers may limit the availability of these potentially life-saving products,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Before moving forward with these measures, they could benefit from studying how the Swedes have virtually eradicated smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The report calls on French policymakers to reconsider their approach and adopt key elements of Sweden\u2019s model, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Recognising harm reduction as a legitimate public health strategy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Ensuring the availability and affordability of safer nicotine alternatives<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Implementing proportionate taxation that incentivises smokers to switch<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Educating the public on the relative risks of different nicotine products<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n

      Dr. Human said: \u201cIf France continues on its current path, it risks falling further behind in the global fight against smoking. Conversely, adopting a harm reduction strategy similar to Sweden\u2019s would accelerate progress toward a smoke-free future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A new report from global health advocacy group Smoke Free Sweden compares the prohibitive tobacco control policies of France with the Swedes\u2019 more regulatory approach. It highlights how Sweden\u2019s embrace of nicotine alternatives, such as vapes and snus, has resulted in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990005,"featured_media":23709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,244],"tags":[329,327,334,186,333],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-23708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-harm-reduction","tag-european-union","tag-france","tag-global","tag-nicotine","tag-sweden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23715,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23708\/revisions\/23715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23708"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=23708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}